PirateBeirut

Genre: Indie, Post Punk, rock.
Year: 2008

About: Whether it’s the chemistry behind these otherwise vastly dissimilar young men, or the time at which the songs were recorded (most of them saw the day in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict of July 2006), or the studio wizardry of Tunefork’s sound engineer Fadi ‘Fe’ Tabbal, the end result is quite impressive; an insane 1’30” intro featuring angular guitar lines and staccato drumming (Nabil Saliba in rare form) plunges us into the New Government’s ‘Party Animals’, a 6-song eruption that confirms this band’s standing at the pantheon of the Lebanese rock scene. The keyboards/guitar duo of brothers Jeremie and Timothee Regnier leads the proceedings, while Zeid Hamdan’s and Cherif Saad’s rhythm guitar/bass interplay provides the songs with a fine, unexpected dubby edge. The Gov’s range of influences on this cruelly short album encompasses everything from British pop and psychedelia of the 60’s and 70’s, to more resolutely modern alternative sounds (Franz Ferdinand, Interpol). Reviewed by Ziad Nawfal.

Credits:

Zeid Hamdan - Voice, Guitar
Jeremie Regnier - Voice, Synth, Electric Piano, Piano, Tambourine
Timothee Regnier - Backing Voice, Guitars
Cherif Saad - Bass
Nabil Saliba - Drums
Mixed at Tunefork studios Beirut by Fadi Tabbal
Co-produced by Incognito 
Photography by George Zouein
 
www.LebaneseUnderground.com
www.myspace.com/thenewgovernment